Into the Wild by Jon Krakauer

The movie for this book, which I did see first, seemed to drag quite a bit. So I picked up the book with some apprehensions about its content. I knew I wanted to read it, as it is a true account, but I was unsure how much I would actually enjoy this book.
The story is of Chris McCandless' tragic foray into the Alaskan wilderness in the spring and summer of 1992. Krakauer was drawn to the story by his own adventures as a young man; he followed McCandless' trail from the point at college graduation when McCandless donates several thousand dollars to charity and takes out on the open road for a few years before making his way into Alaska; Krakauer spoke to most of the people that McCandless encountered on his trek as well as included the few postcards and letters McCandless sent not to his family (who did not know where he was) but to those he encountered on the journey within the book.
The book, although dry in parts, was an easy read with quite a bit of information involved. Krakauer intersperses McCandlesss' story with other wanderers throughout history as well as some of his own past. I thought the book was very interesting, although it tended to get bogged down in information in parts (although I found it to be quite interesting).
It seems that reaction to this book was greatly varied; some people saying McCandless was a nutcase who shouldn't be glorified for his stupidity and others who expounded upon the tragedy that cut short his brilliant life. For me, McCandless was a spoiled strong-willed, intelligent young man, who lacked quite a bit of common sense. I wouldn't go so far to say he deserved his death, but he knew the consequences of his actions when he made the journey; although he may have realized too late what he wanted out of life, the decision to travel into Alaskan wilderness without so much as a compass will always remain his and only his decision.

The book did raise a desire in me to see the southwest portion of my country; it made me realize the ridiculousness of wanting to see Europe or India when I've missed out on the majority of my own homeland.

I would only recommend this book to those who enjoy travel and/or travel books as it does get dry for the casual reader--it is entirely true, so there are no dramatic plots to follow within its pages.

Armageddon Summer by Jane Yolen & Bruce Coville

This is a wonderful piece of young adult fiction! The two authors write alternating points of view from Marina and Jed, the two main characters as they live out what their church believes to be the end of days. Marina at 14 years is the oldest of six children whose fanatical mother follows Rev. Beelson to the top of a mountain to wait out the Armageddon he prophecized. Jed is the 16 year old son of a father who found comfort in Rev. Beelson after Jed's mother left for another man.
The writing follows each character as they leave their lives and head up to a camp on top of a mountain where only 144 people are going to be left alive to rebuild the earth in Jesus' name. The conflicting thoughts of the adolescents as they are pushed into adulthood from these extreme conditions are riveting.
Interspersed between the chapters are letters, sermons, and FBI files that keep the reader informed of all that is going on around the teens. As the two weeks on the mountain play out, the characters begin to see how dedicated the adults on the mountain really are; there is an electric fence that keeps the Believers locked in as much as it is keeping the non-Believers locked out; guns start appearing as soon as the population hits 144 people and things quickly turn downhill for the narrators as the story progresses.
It is a very well written book; and I really do not wish to give too much away in the review of it. Wonderfully entertaining and gripping. A great book!

Tumultuous Tokens of Tenderness

*also called How I Get Way Too Excited About Alliteration*

June is the month for birthdays. Baby-girl last week, the Celt this week, the next weekend is Father's Day, and then it's SO's birthday.
By the way, I'm HORRIBLE at gift giving. I hate having to wait until a specific day to give someone a present. As soon as I buy one, I want to give it away immediately.
So much time is spent on picking out something(s) that lucky guy/girl will just absolutely love and will want to keep forever that as soon as I bring it home, I turn into a four-year-old, "Guess what?!? I bought you something!! It's a surprise!!!!! ....wanna see it?!?!!??"
Even now, I know SO will occasionally pop into my blog and read all the nasty things I say about him, so I can't even put my secrets out into the world wide web. I am forced to sit on them in high anticipation, teasing him with the occasional (alright, fairly frequent--I'm sorry, sweetie!!), "You are gonna LOVE your gifts!! Want a hint?....You are going to be so excited!" And I do this type of thing with such frequency, that as soon as the special day arrives, I start getting nervous. Did I over-hype it? What if he doesn't love it as much as I thought he would? What if I led her to believe it was something else, and this isn't what she was expecting/wanting at all?
Apparently my ease of mind rests on the perfect gift-giving experience.